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29 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Extremes of poverty and wealth often reside side by side with no apparent chance for _
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change looming on the horizon.
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The results within a poverty society can vary ranging from apathetic acceptance of their lot by _
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the down trodden to repeated attempts to overthrow the existing government and society by force and violence.
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In many poverty societies, the governments perceive themselves as being one step removed from _
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revolution, a reality in many states since any real change will be resisted by the entrenched rulers who control the societal wealth and resources
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Arguments have raged on about the degree to which down trodden societies and individuals are responsible for their _
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present situation and how much was imposed on them by factors laying outside their control.
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In that context, geography in its various facets plays a role in determining _
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societal outcomes in terms of economic and social development.
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What complicates things further is that in a world characterized by global communications technologies, people living even in the most desperate of situations are aware _
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that a better life is possible.
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This awareness, it is argued, leads to the _ in that individuals believe that such rewards should be made available to them also.
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“revolution of rising expectations”
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Their disappointment in that belief leads to social unrest even _
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violence as a reaction.
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One solution that we will discuss shortly is _
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migration – leaving one present location for another where better economic prospects and/or personal liberties exist including free speech and religion
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Others argue that the societies they desire to leave should be _
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helped instead so that people do not need to leave.
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This position is not universally accepted by all but underlies some of the debate over _
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NAFTA during its ratification in 1993
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NAFTA (the North American Free Trade Area) envisioned lower economic barriers between _
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the United States, Canada and Mexico in order to foster trade and economic development.
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According to NAFTA, if Mexico’s economy improved, fewer individuals will _
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attempt to illegally cross the border into the United States.
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The poor states say yes while the reply by the rich is to provide some aid but _
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not too much because that hurts their population whose wellbeing is their first priority.
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Aiding poorer states whether out of a sense of moral obligation or self interest (reduce potential world conflict) means that _
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some resources are removed from the giving society.
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Aiding poor states from those states wealthy enough, the reduction is minor but for other states,_
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the costs of aid are very real.
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But, regardless, presently no state gives to the poor countries enough to hurt itself. Charity still begins at _
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home if anywhere.
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Economic development remains the primary issue for many societies – its impact is both _
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domestic (that is: internal to the society) but also internationally impacting relationships between different states and groups of states.
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The poorest societies have multiple deficits that make _
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their overcoming problems in any one area difficult to accomplish.
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What renders the situation even more difficult is that some otherwise poor societies are _
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disproportionately blessed with natural resources and geographic location compared to others.
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Meanwhile others must struggle to overcome their geographic location, resource deficiencies plus climate and human imposed _
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difficulties.
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The poorest states are usually characterized by:
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1. A high population growth rate, meaning ever more mouths to feed.
2. Low per capita income with usually great income disparities between the top ten percent of the society and the bottom half. 3. Poor public health and education services which contribute to a high infant mortality rate and a population characterized by high illiteracy. 4. Political instability – a situation often characterized by dictatorship, military coups, and social disturbances 5. Low economic growth – normally due to the fact that the agricultural productivity of the society is low, often barely sufficient to feed the national population. |
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Poverty problems are difficult for all societies to overcome but _
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cumulatively become totally debilitating since the question becomes exactly where one begins in terms of overcoming these problems.
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All of the poverty problems_
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re-enforce each other, making solutions difficult.
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Some societies possess great wealth in terms of certain natural resources but _
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may find those assets of less value than one might expect.
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Societies that are rich in resources may have trouble from a combination of factors:
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oversupply leading to intense competition among resource producers, difficulties in getting products to market, and changing markets due to changes in fashion and technology. (For example, coal was once a valued product but that has declined – especially with environmental concerns increasing, replaced by petroleum based products.)
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Greater efficiency in use for example may severely reduce demand. Bolivia’s lead and tin mines, once a source of national wealth have declined in value as manufacturing processes use less material, thus _
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reducing demand.
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Product may be affected by changes in taste or fashion; bananas and coffee for example rise and fall based on __ as does the market for cotton as fashion changes.
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consumer demand
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_ (efforts to increase prices by limiting supply) usually flounder on the fact that the sellers continually undercut each other.
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Producer cartels
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